How To Manage Passwords In Chrome
How To Manage Passwords In Chrome
Updated on Jul 1, 2022. If you’re an Android or Windows user, then you’re probably well acquainted with Google’s Chrome browser. In terms of overall safety, security, speed, and usability, it’s the top-rated internet browser in the world. It’s so good that some Mac and iPhone users even use Chrome over the native Safari browser!
One of the really cool features that we appreciate about Chrome is that it easily integrates with Google’s simple, easy-to-use password manager. Google’s password manager allows you to save all of your important login credentials, such as email addresses, usernames, and passwords. You can even save your credit and debit card logins to make payments a breeze.
If you’ve ever wondered just how secure the password manager in Chrome is or how to manage your passwords with Chrome, then you’ve come to the right post! Below, we’ll take a break from our usual VPN reviews to show you exactly how to manage passwords with Chrome and answer some of the most commonly asked questions about Google’s password manager.
Is It Safe To Store Your Passwords In Chrome?
One of the first questions we get about Chrome’s password manager is usually, “Is it safe?”
Every year, cybercrime has gotten worse than the year before. Some of the most recent statistics estimate that around 3 billion accounts are hacked each year! That’s more than enough to scare some Chrome users away from storing any account passwords or credit cards in their password manager.
That being said, Google’s password manager is actually quite secure. For one, it utilizes two-factor authentication to ensure that it’s really you who’s trying to view or manage the passwords. Chrome may also require you to enter your device’s pin or your biometric fingerprint to access the password manager for an added layer of security.
These two layers of security alone are more than enough to ensure that your passwords are safe and secure. Unless a hacker had access to both your cell phone and knew your password, it would be impossible for them to access your full list of passwords.
That being said, a hacker could still figure out your password to certain sites if you’re using an unsecured connection without a VPN like NordVPN, for example. This wouldn’t constitute a breach of your Google password manager, though.
How Does Chrome Compare To Other Password Managers?
Recently, we’ve written several posts reviewing and comparing some of the top third-party password managers on the market. The ones we’ve reviewed most recently include Bitwarden, 1Password, and LastPass.
All of these password managers are applications that can be installed on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. They each utilize NSA-grade AES encryption protocol which is virtually impossible to hack with even the best brute force hacking software, and store your passwords, card info, etc., in a safe, secure “vault” that can only be accessed with a single ultra-secure password.
The password managers mentioned above also feature auto-fill functionality, so you’ll never have to worry about manually entering your lengthy passwords and login credentials into your favorite sites and web apps.
So, how does Google’s password manager compare?
Overall, Google’s password manager is kind of like a “lite” version of these larger password management programs. It allows you to safely and securely store your passwords and credentials in a digital vault. The one issue is that Google’s password manager doesn’t use AES encryption, which makes your passwords a little bit more vulnerable than with a traditional password manager.
Another nice feature that larger password managers like 1Password offer is the ability to categorize your stored passwords by type. Google’s password manager just stores them all in alphabetical order, which can make finding some passwords difficult, especially if you have a lot of them stored.
How To Manage Passwords In Chrome
So, now to the meat of the post… How to manage your passwords in Chrome! Thankfully, it’s as simple as 1-2-3 and requires very little setup to start off with.
1. Open Your Chrome Browser and Log In: First things first, you’ll need to open your Chrome browser and log into your primary Google account. The passwords saved by Google’s password manager are account-specific. This means that if somebody else logs into their account using your device, they’ll only be able to see their passwords, not yours.
2. Open Google’s Password Manager: Now, you’ll need to open Google’s password manager. The easiest way to do this is to navigate to the following URL:
As long as you’re logged into your Google account, it will automatically open Google’s password manager and you’ll be able to change settings, view stored passwords, and edit listings.
3. Manage Your Password Settings: If you’re new to using Google’s password manager, you may want to adjust some of the settings. To do this, click the little gear symbol on the right-hand side of the screen (shown below). Here, you can choose whether Google auto-prompts you to save passwords, set alerts, and even export/import password lists into a CSV file that you can use with other third-party password managers!
4. Add, Remove, or Modify Passwords: Once you’ve finished customizing all of your settings, you can head back to the main password manager screen and scroll down to view all of your stored passwords and login credentials.
You can click on each stored password (listed in alphabetical order by the site title) to edit or remove the listed password. This is useful if you’ve recently changed your password to a certain website.
5. Password Checkup: Lastly, Google’s password manager allows you to perform a full-scale password checkup. This scans the dark web and the normal web to check for reports of data breaches involving your stored usernames and passwords. If it detects any breached passwords, you’ll be prompted to change them.
Final Tips
If you’re wondering whether or not Google’s password manager is safe or not, then we’d have to say that overall, it’s pretty safe. Of course, the more secure your Google password is, the more secure that your other stored passwords will be.
To ensure that your Google password is always safe and secure, always make sure to use a high-quality VPN while browsing the internet, update your password regularly, and use a password generator to ensure that your passwords are very secure and hard to guess.
